Cauliflower is not a vegetable my husband loves, in fact, he doesn’t care for it at all. He eats it (when I load it with butter), but it is certainly not on his favorite list … except when I make it like this. Everyone in my family ate this, including our one-year old, who also is not a big cauliflower eater.
The old saying about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach … one word: bacon! This recipe was actually the result of a simultaneous pregnancy craving for cauliflower, bacon, and cheese, and it is GOOD! Loaded bacon cauliflower is a mixture of a loaded baked potato and macaroni and cheese.
Beyond tasting good, cauliflower is also super healthy. It is very high in vitamin C, and also contains a good amount of vitamin K, several B vitamins, and potassium. And it’s so versatile! Mash it to create pseudo “mashed potatoes”, roast it with a drizzle of olive oil and some spices, or cheese and bacon it up like in this recipe.
For another variation of this recipe, make it with broccoli or garlic roasted romanesco instead.
Loaded Bacon Cauliflower Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cook the bacon on the stove in a large skillet until crispy.
- While the bacon is cooking, slice or cut the cauliflower into bite-size pieces.
- Remove bacon from pan, leaving drippings.
- Add the cauliflower to the pan, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until cauliflower is tender.
- Add butter if desired and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Crumble bacon on top of cauliflower, and sprinkle cheese on top of that.
- Leave on heat an additional 1-2 minutes to melt cheese.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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What’s your favorite use for cauliflower? Do you use it to substitute for any foods? Share your tips below!
I haven’t made any recipe but look good.
Yum!
I made this last night and my family really liked it (which is surprising, because I’m usually the only one eating cauliflower). I did add some sour cream and heavy cream to the recipe to make a creamy sauce, which I really liked. Next time I might try adding some Dijon mustard and some horseradish into the sauce to spice it up a bit. Thank you for the inspiration!
Roasted cauliflower is also a great recipe. Cut into bite sized pieces, drizzle with olive oil season with sea salt or seasoned salt and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Bake at 400degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.
Delicious!! I added too much butter but otherwise…perfect! My family will now eat cauliflower!
We do the mashed/creamed potato alternative version, and it’s also great “twice baked”, with more goodies melted/sprinkled on top and an egg thrown in as a binder. Gives it a nice little au gratin character. Love your site!
I’m going to try your version next time. I love the idea of adding
the egg… seems like it would help with texture, and give some added
protein!
I like pureed cauliflower with garlic, salt, pepper, butter & sour cream. Tastes just like mashed potatoes! Even my boyfriend (a meat ‘n potatoes guy) loves it.
This looks awesome! I am new to your site but can see that I will be “sucked in” for many hours to come! What is the best way to print this recipe? Thanks so much for all the great info here! I am also relatively new to Paleo and IF, but enjoying both immensely.
I’m new here as well but I made the chocolate coconut clusters and I’m now a lifetime fan here. Delish! Next up: loaded cauliflower. If you feel a surge in followers, it’s cause I have a really big mouth! Love your site!!!
Hi wellness MamaThanks for your Cauliflower Recipe, I’m going to try that tonight, another alternative is mashing the Cauliflower up like Mashed Spuds, my kids can never spot the difference.